Chicago Bulls Midseason Grades: Butler shines, Wade and Rondo shrug
Dwyane Wade
Stats: 30.4 minutes, 18.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 42.8 FG%, 31.9 3PT%, 79.5 FT%
Grade: B-
Wade is getting some unfair shade. The 35-year-old guard had a pretty terrible December, shooting 21.1 percent from deep and flooding the Bulls offense with an excessive amount of contested step back jumpers. If December is taken away, however, Wade has had a surprisingly efficient season so far. From the beginning of the season to Nov. 30, Wade shot 37.7 percent from 3-point range, and since Jan. 1, he’s shooting 36.4 percent.
Given Wade’s lack of reputation as a sharpshooter, those are some shockingly pleasant numbers. They just get buried by the common perception of Wade as a non-shooter, his struggles in the month of December, and the prevalence of inefficient two-pointers in his game.
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Wade is the king of the league when it comes to taking possessions off on defense, and that’s what’s bringing his grade down. No one expects him to wear himself down chasing his man around. He’s 35 after all. That lessening of expectations, however, also comes with an expectation that you don’t take jabs at the effort level of your teammates in post-game interviews. Not a good look, Dwyane.